


The Castle

by HarriotRogers



Category: Beauty and the Beast (1991)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-07
Updated: 2017-09-13
Packaged: 2018-04-19 13:36:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4748354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HarriotRogers/pseuds/HarriotRogers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Bel buys an old abandoned Theatre in downtown Seattle, she intends to restore the old building back to its former glory. But when a certain Beast comes into her life in the form of famous rock star Adam Vincent, Bel's life will change forever. Will Adam be the man who will finally set Bel free or will Bel be the one rescuing Adam?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Entering The Castle

**Author's Note:**

> I'm a big fan of Disney's Beauty & The Beast film and love Belle and Adam together. This is my first Fanfiction so hope you like it!

“I bought it!” Belinda or Bel as she is known said in to the phone. “I can’t believe I actually did it!” Bel was breathing quickly as she held the phone to her ear. Her best friend Millie who was on the receiving end of her excited news briefly paused before replying “So the old theatre that no one else wanted you bought? With the money that was left to you?” Bel thought for a moment “You think I made a mistake?” “Bel I just want you to really think about what will be involved because……I will be there every day next to you while you do this!” Bel had to move her ear away from the phone as Millie squealed excitedly into the phone. “Looks like we are going to open a theatre!” Millie said enthusiastically. It was that moment that the gravity of what Bel had done sank in. ‘I’m going to open a theatre’ Bel thought to herself in realisation.

One month later Bel and Millie stood looking up at the old abandoned theatre known as The Castle. It had stood in ruins for nearly 20 years, the paint on the outside long ago worn away to nothing. Wood fittings crumbling and rotting from the weather. The glass in the windows smashed or missing altogether. It looked like a building out of an old gothic horror novel. A novel Bel had probably already read.

The weather was chilly and overcast and would probably start to rain at any moment. A nice Seattle day. The weather matching the hesitant mood of both Bel and Millie. “I guess we should go in” Bel said cautiously as she held the heavy metal key in her hand.

As Bel slid the key into the large padlock holding the metal chain together, the key caught on something and wouldn’t move. Bel gripped the key tighter and tried to turn the key with more force. “It’s not moving” Bel said with frustration. Maybe this was a bad omen Bel thought to herself. It was the one and only spontaneous thing she had done in her whole life and maybe this was the universe telling her she had made a mistake.

She had coveted this building for as long as she can remember. Memories of her mother taking her to see over the top musicals and ballet performances played in her mind like an old black and white movie. Her mother loved the theatre and it was her life. Although Bel wasn’t as much of a fan of musicals and dancing as her mother was, Bel loved the written word and had wanted to become a playwright for as long as she could remember. It was these trips with her mother to the theatre that she saw the creative and artistic life she wanted to be a part of.

A shy and bookish child, Bel never wanted to be on stage bathed in lights but knew she wanted to create worlds and characters other people could bring to life. She wanted to stay in her small apartment at her desk, cloaked in worlds of swashbuckling heroes and tough heroines going on adventures. She wanted to bring to life on stage all the people and stories she had living in her imagination.

The memories of her mother soon dissipated as the key in the lock refused to budge. “Yep the universe thinks it’s a bad idea” Bel said. “You really need to stop being so negative. I’m so proud of you and we are going to make this the best theatre in Seattle” Millie responded confidence. At that moment the key suddenly turned in Bel’s hand and the lock fell open. Bel and Millie just looked at each other in stunned silence. “Maybe the universe is telling you it’s meant to be”. Bel gave Millie a look over the top of her glasses in response. “Come on lets go in” Millie said excitedly. Bel unchained the handles and pushed open the heavy door.

The first thing that struck Bel was the smell. It was very musty with a mixture of leather and wood. It was not an unpleasant smell but made her think of old libraries full of old leather bound books. It was comforting. It was very dark inside with most of the windows boarded up. Only a few rays of light shone through holes in the wooden boards on the windows. It created an eerie image like she was walking into an old castle from a fairy tale.

Millie flicked a switch on the wall near the door and suddenly the front foyer was bathed in orange light to reveal a beautiful marble staircase and a large crystal chandelier hanging above them. Bel and Millie looked around in amazement and ore, not saying anything. It looked like something from another world. I think I have found my new home Bel thought to herself.

Bel and Millie spent the day exploring every inch of the old theatre. From the auditorium and stage to the old dressing rooms back stage and underground rooms and secret tunnels that criss-cross all over the theatre. It was evident no one had been there in a very long time. Props and old costumes lined the dressing rooms and in the darkness looked like they could come to life.

The old building put Millie on edge as she felt there could be someone hiding in the shadows but Bel revelled in the history and was imagining all the people and stories hidden in the walls. It was a never ending well of inspiration and history at her fingertips.

Over the next few days Bel and Millie spent their time removing bags upon bags of rubbish while trying to clear away all the dust and dirt that had collected over the last couple of decades. Bel was surprised the building wasn’t more damaged by vandals and squatters. But even the wickedest people in the city had respect for this old monument of Seattle. It was the place that Elvis first performed in in the 1954, where Frances Farmer the old famous movie star from the 1930s made her stage debut and where Kurt Kobain once worked selling popcorn at the candy bar as a 15 year old. Everyone had their memories and it was an unspoken rule to respect the heritage of it.

Eventually Bel and Millie removed all of the rubbish and got the theatre to a point where they could see the floor through the dust. Every place they cleaned and removed rubbish from revealed a hidden gem. A gold trim ornately decorated door frame, an old stain glass window in a dressing room or the old brass candelabras in the rehearsal room. Bel couldn’t believe what had been sitting here for decades under a thick blanket of dust, like it had been in a deep sleep waiting for someone to break the curse and bring it back to life.


	2. Home?

It had been a full month since Bel took ownership of the theatre. She and Millie worked tirelessly from dawn till dusk cleaning and repairing what they could on their own. Although the building was structurally sound there were still many areas that needed professional attention, one being the whole building needed to be re-wired. Bel was given a quote and it would cost over $50,000 to get the theatre back to working order. Although a lot of the lights hanging in the auditorium were in good working condition, they were old and outdated and if she wanted to bring this old theatre into the new century she needed to update them.

And that was just the beginning. All the old red leather seats needed cleaning and restoring as well as the stage curtain. It was a lot, but Bel was determined to breathe new life into the old girl.

This was what was going through Bel’s head as she leaned over her desk looking at all the bills that needed to be paid. “I knew it would be a lot, but I think I underestimated what it would take to do all this,” Bel said to Millie. Millie was hunched over her desk looking at paint samples and material swatches. Holding up two very similar looking colour cards Millie said seriously, “Which colour would look better in the downstairs dressing rooms, egg shell or cloud white?”

Bel looked at the colours, “Well it will remain stain grey if I don’t figure how to pay for all this.”

Millie put the colour samples down on the desk and walked over to Bel, “What you need is an investor. I know you wanted to do this yourself, but even you have to admit now it’s much too big of a job.”

Bel slumped further down in her chair looking defeated. Millie suddenly perked up, “How about we rent the theatre out to private parties or events? We can’t have shows performed here just yet but I am sure there are heaps of people who would love to hire this place for their next party. It’s the perfect building!” Bel thought about Millie’s idea. It was a good idea to generate some much needed revenue, but the idea of people using this building for weddings and drunken parties made Bel cringe. This was a sacred creative space for artists to use to bring their vision to life, not for a bunch of lawyers to get drunk in at their work Christmas party.

“It’s a good idea, but I don’t want this place used for parties. If someone wants to hire it for an art exhibition or a rehearsal space then I will think about it.”

A small sly smile grew on Millie face, “If I can find someone who wants to hire the space for what you just described and they pay up front will you agree?”

Bel thought for a moment. “Ok, if you find someone who is happy to hire the theatre for an agreeable amount of time and can pay upfront I will agree.”

Millie stuck her hand out to Bel, “Deal,” and they shook hands.

Millie, while on her break smoking a sneaky cigarette out the back of the theatre while it snowed, spoke quietly into her phone, “Leon, I think I have the perfect place for you!”

Meanwhile across a few state lines and in sunny California, a young man collapsed into a large leather chair overlooking the ocean while trying to block out the incessant lecture’s from his oldest and dearest

friend. “Adam, you need to listen to me. You haven’t released any new music for the last 7 years. You haven’t performed in 5 years and you haven’t been out of this house for months! If you don’t do something soon your fans will forget you and move onto the next new hot band. At least go and have an interview with Rolling Stone magazine. They have been at me for months to talk to you.”

Adam scrunched his eye together, trying to relieve the ache in his head from the hangover he was trying to forget. He really needs to stop drinking he thought to himself. Yeah right!

Leon walked over to Adam’s collapsed form in the chair and sat down. He looked at his friend and couldn’t believe what the once biggest rock star in the world had turned into. “I’ve been with you from the beginning Adam. We were friends before you become Adam Vincent, lead singer of Black Rose. But I really need to you listen to me now. I am worried about you. Not the money, not the fame but you. You need to get out of L.A. and figure out what you want to do and if this is making you happy,” Leon looked around the house Adam had called home for the last few years. It was a large 6 bedroom house on a cliff in Malibu, in an exclusive gated community overlooking the Indian Ocean. The house had become Adams tower where he shut himself away from the world.

Adam looked up at his friend and manager. He felt like he was in a dark fog and doesn’t know where to step next. He knows he needs to do something but doesn’t know which way to turn. After a long pause Adam says quietly, “What do you have in mind?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for taking the time to read!


	3. Getting closer together

Bel sat at her desk looking over the large pile of bills. They kept arriving and she was getting to the point where she didn’t know how she was going to pay them all. Just then Millie came bounding into the office startling Bel from her thoughts.

“You can thank me now, I will accept that thanks in the form of chocolate” Millie said excitedly. Bel looked up at her friend. “And what pray tell am thanking you for with chocolate?” Millie smiled and sat down next to Bel. “I have solved all our problems. I have someone to hire the theatre”. “Already?” Bel was surprised Millie had someone interested in such a short period of time. 

“Yes and as you agreed to the terms you can’t back down now” Millie replied with a satisfied smile. “Fine, tell me the details Amelia.” Millie knew she was going to get her way. Whenever Bel uses her full name she knows Bel is conceding. 

“Well as you know my father used to work at Washington Records as a sound engineer. There he met a good friend called Leon Lumiere. Leon just so happens to be the manager of a very famous band. A band who happen to want a very private place to rehearse new music. And we happen to have the perfect place for them”. 

“What kind of band?” Bel didn’t consider herself a music snob but keeping the artistic integrity of the theatre was her main priority. Millie stopped and seemed to consider her answer carefully. “It’s heavy metal band Black Rose. Now before you say anything just hear me out. They are one of the biggest bands in the world. Leon wants to find a private space so they can rehearse new music before they start a new tour. This is a huge deal for the theatre. One of the most famous bands in the world rehearsing here. Also Leon will pay a lot of money to have this space and even more to keep it confidential”. Millie sat down and looked at the bills pilling up on Bel’s desk. “Bel this will save the theatre and allow you to finish it the way you want to. It will get it back looking how it should. Please think about it. I think this is our only option.” 

Bel sat back and the seriousness of her situation sunk in. She realised she didn’t have any other options. “I’ve never even heard of them but your right. Ok I’ll do it.” Bel said finally. Millie jumped up with excitement. “Great! Because they will be here in two days!”

\-----------------------------------------------------

Adam pushed his black Ray Ban sunglasses back up his nose as he watched the trees whip past him from the window of the car. Adam felt like he has been sitting there for weeks instead of only the two days it had been since they left LA. “Remind me again why we are driving to Seattle?” Leon turned his head back to Adam from the driver’s seat. “I told you, if we fly the paps will photograph you at the airport and will know when you are going. This way we can get you there in secret”

Adam lay back into the seat pretending to go to sleep. Even though he didn’t always show it he was grateful to his friend and manager. Leon had been there from the beginning and the only person he felt truly knew him. Leon had done a lot for Adam over the years and trusted him enough to let him drag him across the country to rehearse with his band in a city he hasn’t been too since he was a kid. It’s been years since he has been back to Seattle and although it doesn’t contain the best memories, he feels a strange pull drawing him back there. Like there is something important waiting for him there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
